The prostatic urethral lift procedure, more commonly known as UroLift, has been designed to improve male lower urinary tract symptoms while avoiding the complications and disadvantages of existing drug and surgical therapies. In particular, UroLift does not damage ejaculatory function or affect orgasmic sensation. It appears an option for men who wish to avoid long-term drug therapy, the side effects of drugs or surgery and who do not need or will not accept traditional surgical treatments. UroLift was introduced following a series of planned studies that led to US Food and Drug Administration approval in September 2013. UroLift has recently been approved by the UK National Institute for Clinical and Health Excellence (September 2015) as effective and safe and cost-effective for use in the UK health system. This review describes the device and the procedure and the evidence base that has led to those approvals.
Medical devices (Auckland, N.Z.). 2016 May 19*** epublish ***
Thomas Anthony McNicholas
Section of Urology, Royal Society of Medicine, London, UK; Urology Department, Lister Hospital, East and North Herts NHS Trust, Stevenage, UK; Faculty of Health and Human Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Herts, UK.